Controlling mechanism for phonographs and the like



Feb. 27, 1923. v 1.446395 F. H. SWANSON CONTROLLING MECHANISM F011 PHONOGRAPHS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 14, 1921 Y 4 sheets-sheet 1 I Q Inn/71% "(W $3; I T10 rear/206E 51761196 7 wm 1 1 F. H. SWANSON CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct 14, 1921 4 sheets-sheet 2 a3 1 1*; 63 7 .4 g "2r 8 4 2 3% 1a A Q 1 46 r; 16

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-- F. H. SWANSON CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS *AND THE LIKE I Filed Oct. 14, I921 4 sheets-sheet s Feb. 27,- 1923. 1,446,996

F. H. SWANSON CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS AND THE LIKE; I

Filed Oct 14 1921 4 shets-sheet 4 I in Inventor;

Patented Feb. 27, 1923.

UNITED stares 1,4463% PATENT] OFFICE.

FLOB/ENCE'H. SWANSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

- oon'raonmne i/rnonanrsrr ronrHonoenAPi-Is AN THE LIKE. v

Application filed October 14, 1921. Serial No. 507, 692.

Yo aZZ whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, FLonnNon H. SWAN- sort, a sub ect of the King of Sweden, rcsiding at Chicago, 1n the county of Cook and titate of Illinois, have invented certain new.

,ord type, and it consists in certain pecularities of the construction, novel arrangement and combination of the various parts thereof as willbe hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The principal objectof the invention is to provide a controlling mechanism for phonographs, graphophones, and the like, which shall'be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong, durable and efficient in operation, with its parts so made and arranged that they can be readily applied to Victrolas or phonographs of the disk record type withoutany material alterations in the construction thereof, and, in such a manner that upon completion of a piece "being played thereby, the movements of the parts of the instrument will be automatically stopped.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism whereby the phonograph or instrument may be manually stopped in its operation and afterwards started, if

desired, at any time between the commencement and finish of the piece being played. Still another object of the invention is to I serve to illustratean embodiment of the invention- Fig. .1 is a plan sectional view of fragments of the motor board and turn 'table of a. phonograph taken on line 11 of Fig. 7 illustrating by continuous lines about the the parts of the 7 positions parts of the mechanism will occupy when the piece being played'is almost completed, and by dotted lines about- .the position the" tone-arm-actuated bar will occupy at the commencement of thepiece ing played.

2 is a similar view of like parts showing the positions theywill occupy'when the piece being played is. completed and the phonograph automatically stopped. a

. F 3' is'a'sim'ilar' view to Fig. 1 taken on the same line but showing the parts at I the instant of the automatic release thereof,

.to permit them to assume the positions shown in Fig 2. This view also illustrates the positions the parts will occupywhen the attachmentis being used inconnection with a disk of the Victrola type. t I Fig. 4 is a similar view to that of illustrating the position of the parts when Fig. i

the mechanism is used in connectionTw'ith a disk of the Brunswick type,

Figs. '5 and 6' are similar views to-Fig. 1 taken onthe same line, showing the parts in about the positions theyv will occupywhen manually stopping and manually starting, respectively, I the phonograph. at a time between the commencement of playing the piece and its finish.

Fig. 7 is anenlarged sectional view taken on line 7- 7- of, Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated bythe arrows.

Fig. 8 is a. longitudinal sectional view through a portion. of the tone-arm-actuated Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan view of the inner portion of said bar, and I Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragment of thetripping dogand its depending projection, which dog is carried by the operating bar.

Like numeralsof reference refer to' corresponding parts throughout. the diiferent views of thefdrawings. 1

Referring nowtothe diiferent views of the-drawings, the reference numeral 12 'designates a fragmentof the horizontally'located motor-board or plate of a phonograph ora like instrument, on the upper surface of.

which board and mainly within the confines of the depending annular flange 13, of the i disk-like or circular turntable 14,-are mounted the different elements of my. controlling mechanism. The board 12 is provided centrally thereof with a vertical opening 15, for the reception of an upright spindle 16, upon felt or other suitable material to prevent tary one, and while it may be the shaft of the motor of the instrument, and usually is, yet, it may be an indirectly driven rotary shaft or Spindle used for imparting rotary motion to the turntable. Fiized on the shaft 16, above the board 12, is apinion 17, which meshes with a gear 18, mounted on a stub shaft 19, vertically journale'd at its upper and lower ends in'a bracket'20, and socket 21, respectively, mounted on the board 12, near the turntable shaft. Mounted on the shaft 19, to turn therewith, is a pinion 22, which meshes with a gear 28, 'on a stubshaft 24, also vertically journaled at its upper and lower ends in an arm of the bracket 2 0,a1id a socket 21, respectively, near but outwardly of the first mentioned bracket and socket. The shaft 24 has fixed thereon a pinion 25 adapted to mesh with a'shiftable or floating gear 26, journaled on the lower surface of and carried by a horizontally disposed arm or member 27, which is pivoted at its innerjend to the shaft 24, as shown. The journal shaft 28, ofthe gear 26, ex-

tends upwardly through the arm 27, and has fixed on its upper portion 'a friction roller 29, which may beprovided with a band 30 of slipping.

Connected to the inner portion of the'arm 27, is one end of aspring 81, the other end of which is secured to the bracket 20;, so as to exert its tension on the said arm in the direction of the bracket. At its outer or "free matte arm 27 is provided with a slot 3.2 which is by preference slightly enlarged at its end adjacent the pivot of said arm. This. slotis for the reception and operation of'an' upwardly extended projection 33 on 'thetrip'ping andbrake-shoe carrying lever whichis designated as a whole by the numeral 34, and as shown indifferent views of the "drawings, extends under the flange of "the turntable and outwardly thereof. This lever is in the form of a'bell-crank-lever,

andfis fulcrumed on the board 12 at a point outwardly of the shiftable gear 26 as at '85. The shorter arm 36 of this lever is pointed to engage a pivoted arm or bar 37 near its free end; This arm or bar is plvoted as at "3'8'to the board 12 at one side of a straight line through the shafts 16, 19 and 24 and is pressed towards said shafts by means of a spring 39 secured at one of its ends to said board. Thus itwill-be understood that the movement of the arm 37 which is slight, will be towards and'from the train of gears.

Between its outer end and the arm 36 of i the lever 34, the same is provided'with a laterally and upwardly extended bracket 40 which carries a brake-shoe 41 of any suitable material to impinge against the inner surface of the flange 13 of the turn-table so as to prevent rotary movement thereof. Near the fulcrum 35 of the lever 34 a releasing lever 42 has its fulcrum43 onv the board 12. This lever also extends under the flange 1'3 and outwardly thereof as isshown in different views of the drawings. I

Secured at one of its ends to the inner end of the lever 42 is a spring 44, the other end of which is secured to the longer arm of the lever 84 outwardly of the fulcrum 35 of the last named lever. The releasing lever 42 is prevented from pivotal movement in one di rection by means of a stoppin 45 which e5;- tends upwardly from the board 12 and is adapted to engage aprojection 46 on the edge of the lever 42 near its inner end. The brakelever 34 is provided in its edge adjacent the lever 42 with a notch 47 to engage the free .end of an arm 48 carried by the lever 42 and end of the arm 36 'O'fjtll tripping and brake-- shoe carrying lever.

Pivoted to the board 12'between the journalof the shiftable gear 26 and the bar 37 is a trigger 5O which is of a bell-crank-lever type and has a short arm- 51 adapted for engagement with'thepivoted-arm or bar 37 under certain conditions; This trigger is prevented from movement in'one direction by means of, a stop-pin 52 extended upwardly from the board 12in the path of the shorter arm 51 of said trigger.

Suitably fixedat'its outer end to the upright portion of theionearm or reproducer carrying arm, not shown, is the operating bar which is designated'as a whole bythe reference numeral53 and in the present instance is shown as comprising three bars or members 54, 55 and 56. In order for adjusting this bar for different makes of phone graphs, the members 54 and 55 thereof are connected together for longitudinal adjustment, and for thispurpose the inner end of the bar 54 is provided with a slot 57 for the reception of screws 58 which are extended through suitable openings in the member 55 and engage nuts 59 'on'the lower surface of the member 54 employed for clamping the said member to the member in their adjusted positions. The member 56 of the operating bar 53 is-pivoted near one of its ends to the member near "the inner end of the member 54 and as is clearly shown in Fig. 8, extends under the member 53 and beyond its inner end. Theinner end of the member 56 is provided with a transverse flange 60 which has secured to its outer surface a strip of felt 61 or other suitable material to prevent slipping. At one of its sides near its flange 60 the member 56 is to the member 55 of the operating bar near .in one direction.

its inner end. To prevent movement of the dog in one direction, the member is provided on its upper surface near the pivot of the dog with an adjustable stop block 66 which has a longitudinally disposed slot 67 for the reception of a set screw 68 seated in the member By this arrangement it is manifest that the stop block 66 can be moved towards or from the dog 65 so as to regulate the movement of the dog At itsend opposite the screw or post 64 carried thereby, the dog 65 is provided with a depending projection 69 which is adapted to travel along the sur- 4 face of the pivoted bar 37 adjacent the train of gears and to co-act with said bar as well as with the trigger v50 to release the bar or arm 37 from the pointed arm 36 of the tripping and brake-shoe carrying lever.

As is well known to those familiar with phonograph disk records, the type of such records used on Victrola phonographs, have their grooves arranged in convolutions spaced equi-distantly from each other, while the Brunswick type of such disks have their grooves arranged in convolutions equally distantly separated except for a few convolutions' at the inner portion thereof, which are arranged in gradually wider distances apart towards the center of the disks.

From the foregoing, and by reference to the drawings, it will be readily understood.

and clearly seen that, assuming the parts to be in the positions shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings by continuous lines, and that the operating bar 53 carried by the tonearm for rotation therewith has been moved by said tone-arm from the initial position of the operating bar shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.; and further assuming that the device is employed in connection with Victrola record disk, it is manifest that the friction bar or strip 60 will contact with the rotating friction roller 29, and as the latter travels faster than the shoe or strip 60 the bar 53 and its friction strip 60 will be dragged towards thebrake-shoe carrying lever 34, in which movement the pro ectlon 69 on the dog 65 will be 'caused by the action of the flexible rod 63 to throw the pivoted arm37 out of engagement withthe arm 36 of the brake-shoe lever 34. The position of the parts as above described are fully shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. I

After this action has taken place, the spring 44 will cause the lever 34' and its brake-shoe 41 to assume the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings,zwhen it. is-obvious that'the rotation of the turn table will be stopped by reason ofthe impingement of the brake-shoe 41 therewith.

When a disk of the Brunswick type is employed, after the operating arm has movedfrom the position shown bydotted lines in.

Fig. 1 to about the'position shown by con tinuous lines in said figure, the friction strip 60 of the operating bar will contact with the friction roller 29, and as it moves with a greater degree of speed than said roller,

when the stylus reaches the widened convolution of said Brunswick type of disk the dog 65 will occupy about the position shown in Fig. '4, thus causing the depending projection 69 on said dogto press the longer] arm of the trigger 50 from the bar 37, thus- .causing the shorter arm 51 of said'trigger to press the bar 37 outwardly, thus releasing it from the arm 36 of the brake-shoe lever, as is clearly shown in Flg. 4 of the drawings.

From. this position the parts will immediately assumethe positions indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings so. as to stop the rotation of the turn-table. By connecting the elements 54 and 55 of the operating bar for adjustment longitudinally with respect to one another, it is manifest that the operating bar can be fixed at its outer end' to the tonearms of machines of different makes, es-

pecially when the distances between thetonearms and the shaft or spindle 16 Vary.

If at any time between the commencement of the piece being rendered and the finish thereof, it is desired to stop the phonograph,

this can be done when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, by movingthe lever 42 towards the lever34 until the rod 49 carried by the arm 48 of the lever 42 contacts with the pivoted bar 37 and disengages it 1from the arm 36 of the brake shoe carrying ever.

"When this release has been effected the spring 44 will retract-the lever 34 until said lever strikes the free end of the arm 48 at a point outwardly from the notch 47 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, when it is apparent the rotation of the turn table will the arm 48 willengage the notch 47 and thus hold the brake-shoe out of contact with the flange of the turn table so as to permit rotation of the latter.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with the motor board of a phonograph having a vertical opening there m, of a driven rotary shaft extended through said opening, a turn-table mounted to turn with said shaft above said board and having a depending peripheral flange, a tripping and brake-shoe carrying lever fulcrumed on the motor board near the flange of the'turntable and having an armto engage a releasing bar, said releasing bar pivoted to said board, a floating gear shaving connection with said lever for shifting the position thereof, a train of gears uniting the floating gear and said driven shaft, an operating arm adapted to be fixed at its outer end to the tone-arm of, a phonograph to turn therewith in a horizontal plane, a friction roller carried by said floating gear, a friction member transversely disposed on the inner end of the operating bar to co-act with said friction roller, and a spring-pressed dog pivotallymounted across said operating bar and having a depending projectionfor cooperation with said releasing bar to disengage it from the said tripping lever.

f2. In a device of the class described, the combination with the motoreboardof phonograph having a'vertica-l opening therein, of a driven rotary shaft extended through said opening, a turntable mounted to turn with said shaft abovesaid board and having a depending peripheral flange, a tripping and brake-shoe carrying lever fulcrumed on the motor board near the flange ofthe'turn-table and having an arm to engage a releasing bar, said releasing bar pivoted to said board, a spring actuated arm p-ivoted at one end to the motor board and loosely connected at its other end to said lever, a floating gear journaled on said arm and carrying a friction roller, a train of gears uniting the floating gear and said driven shaft, an operating arm adapted to he -fixed at its outer end to the tone-arm to turn therewith ina horizontal plane, a transverse friction member on the inner end of said bar to co-act with said friction roller, and a dog pivotally mounted across's'aid bar and having a dependingprojection for cooperation with said releasing bar to disengage it from the said tripping lever.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with the motor board of a pho-- nograph having a vertical opening therein, of a driven rotary shaft extended through said opening, a turn-table mounted to turn the said shaft above said board and having a depending peripheral flange, a tripping and brake-shoe carrying lever fulcrumed on the motor board near the flange of the turntable and having an arm to engage-a releasing bar, said releasing bar pivoted to said board, a floating gear having spring-arcin ated connection with said lever for shifting the position thereof, a friction roller carried by said floating gear, a train of gears uni-ting the floating gear and said driven shaft, an operating arm adapted to he fixed'at its outer end to the tone-arm of a phonograph to turn therewith in horizontal plane, a

friction member transversely disposed on the inner end of the operating bar to co-act with said friction roller, a spring-pressed dog pivotally mountedacross said operating bar and having a depending projection for co-operation with said releasing bar to disengage it from the said tripping lever, a

manually operated lever fulcrumed near the tripping lever and having an arm extended towards said tripping lever, a rod extended from the lower portion of said arm and adapted to contact with the said rcleasing bar, and a spring connected atone of its'ends to the manually operated lever its inner end and at its other end to the ing spring actuated connection with said lever for shifting the position. thereof, a friction roller carried by the floating gear, a train of gears uniting the fioa-tinggear and said driven shaft, a bell-erank-levershaped trigger pivoted on the board near the releasing bar and having its shorter arm adapted for engagement with said bar, an operating arm adapted to befixed at its outer'end to the tone-arm of a phonograph to turn therewith in a horizontal plane, a friction member transversely disposed on theinner .end of the operating bar to co-act with said friction roller, and a spring-pressed dog pivotally mounted across said operating bar and having a depending projection'for co-operation with said trigger for disengaging-thereleaeing bar from said tripping lever.

FLORENCE H. SXVANSON. I 

